Maurer 1

Josh Maurer
Mrs. Rutan
AP Lit & Comp
11 January 2022
There’s no Escaping Foster

“Walk a day in my shoes, feel the pain, loss, sadness, guilt, remorse, and the heartache, then I
dare you to judge me!” (@therandomvibes)

While scrolling through the internet this one popped right out to me. It gets you to think on a

deeper level and into a different perspective and see everyone has their struggles. Thomas C.

Foster throughout his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor helped me to see on a

deeper level and perspective on not just literature but also life. Foster educates us about

numerous theories but one of his most interesting lessons is to put yourself into the character’s

shoes. Many of his theories can be applied to Alice Monro’s short story, How I met my Husband

in which being a pilot can mean so much more.

Flight is what we all long for

Not many readers can say they are pilots. In Muroes’s story, we are put into Chris’s shoes

of being a pilot and this gives us a little insight. This insight directly connects to the foster theory

of flight. Foster states “flight alone is a wonder…” (Foster 134) and we see the wonder in Edie

as she talks to Chris. She is intrigued by flight even though she has never experienced it before.

Edie having that wonder for flight shows the reader a glimpse of Edie’s freedom if she goes with

Chris. Edie has a perfect chance right in front of her when Chris offers and says “I’ll take you up

in my plane” (Munro 137), at that moment you can tell it’s Edies chance to get her freedom and

go up with Chris. Once she is done daydreaming of the life she could have She comes back to
 Maurer 2

reality and says “I’m saving my money,” (Munro 137) this closes that door of opportunity for

freedom. And, interestingly, Edie chooses to close the door herself. The desire to fly is not just a

wonder to Edie, Chris also loves the wonder and freedom that flight brings. Chris has got a taste

of flight and the freedom it brings because during his time in the war “he learned to fly a

plane…” (Munro 138). On the surface level, Chris is just a pilot but if you take a deeper look

into Chris the real reason is to escape the responsibilities that life has and the freedom he gets.

Chris doesn’t want to live a normal life and Alice (Chris’s future wife) is ready to settle down

and Chris wants to escape all of that. Chris makes the decision to leave “...this place...” (Munro

142) and escape to his freedom. When you read that sentence you just think he doesn’t like the

place they are but there is more than meets the eye, Chris wants to leave the life he has and go be

free and not be tied down by Alice or anything. Alice finds Chris “...took off” and is

flabbergasted. Once again Foster shows us the theory that “...flight is freedom” (Foster 136) and

characters like Chris will always long for it and in the end, nothing will stop them from getting

that freedom.

Geography

When you put yourself into the character's shoes geography is a big element. In Muroes's

story, we are placed into the farmland province of Ontario, Canada. Edie lives in the country and

works on “...an old house out on Fifth Line, about five miles out of town” (Munro 130), which is

owned by a wealthy doctor and his family. We see that the Peebles are rich from drinking

“...ginger ale...” (Munro 134), instead of drinking water and the “...rooms and rooms...” (Munro

139) in their “...big house” (Munro 139). Munro cleverly exhibits the different way of life that
 Maurer 3

Edie and the Peebles live. Munro explores geography in more than just where you live, she

explores the difference in what kind of country-folk you would be. The Peebles are the “town

people buying up old farms, not to work them but to live in them.” (Munro 130). The Peebles put

us into the shoes of the wealthy people. Edie and Loretta Bird put us into the shoes of poor

country folk. Edie and Loretta might both be country people, but they are totally different. Edie

might not be the most intelligent person when it comes to school being that she got a “...37

percent” (Munro 132) in school. Edie may not be the smartest but she understands her place in

society and is respectful to everyone and is very witty once she is comfortable. If you don’t put

yourself into the character's shoes you wouldn’t get an in-depth view of geography.

Communion

Fosters argues that when people eat together it shows a deeper level to the character. Putting

yourself into the character's shoes truly helps to show the deeper meaning of what on the surface

level might just look like a normal dinner, but in reality, is the biggest test the character endures.

Eating can bring people together as it did Loretta Bird and Alice, “I heard her inquire in the hotel

coffee shop where I was having a Coke and brought her out” (Munro 138). Foster argues that

“...breaking bread together is an act of sharing and peace…(Foster 8). Dr. Peebles “was the one,

not his wife, to offer iced tea.” (Munro 139). Dr. Peebles was welcoming and happy to have

Alice, but on the other hand Edie also “...had to fix a glass for Loretta Bird too, though it

galled…” (Munro 139) her. This shows that communion can be positive and negative. This

shows how much Edie truly despises Loretta by how she complains about doing such a small
 Maurer 4

task for her. Foster claims that “the act of taking food into our bodies is so personal we really

only want to do it with people we’re very comfortable with.”

For example: We see communication to also show romance and personal connection. Edie makes

Chris, the pilot, a cake. When Edie comes in with her cake and says hope you’re not sick and

Chris says “I’m just tired of talking to people. I don’t mean you. Have a seat.” Chris welcoming

Edie into the tent and telling her he’s actually not sick and eating some of her cake shows he’s

comfortable around her. Foster doesn’t just believe that communion only applies to eating and

drinking with people, “passing a joint…” (Foster 10) shows that “I’m with you, I share this

moment with you, I feel a bond of community with you” (Foster 11). Chris offers Edies and

cigarettes and when he does she “couldn't even shake her head no, so he gave her one” (Munro

136). Edie wasn’t going to say no in this situation because she was comfortable even though she

wanted to say no she felt that bond and let it happen. This wasn’t Edies the first time she “had

smoked a cigarette” (Munro 136). Edie only had smoked a cigarette one other time, this shows

how significant it was that Edie smoked one with Chris. Edie and Chris both were comfortable

enough with each other to eat and smoke cigarettes. You would have missed these key details if

you just read with your eyes and didn’t put yourself into both of their shoes to see how

significant it was for both characters to participate in communion together.

The Time Period

Not too many people alive today know what it was like to live in the 1930s. In Munro's story, we

are put into this time period and to understand “...the story, you have to read through eyes that
 Maurer 5

are not your own, eyes that…” of the characters as well (Foster 232). You have to look through

the character's eyes to understand when Edie said “it was just when the trend was starting of

town people buying up old farms, not to work them but to live on them” (Munro 130). If you just

looked through your own eyes in 2021 you’d think people do that all the time. What is the big

deal? The big deal is that back then the rich people lived in town and it was a status symbol to

live in town the closer you lived to town the richer you were, but then it slowly started to change

and rich people lived on farms which before only for farmers. Living on a farm and not using it

was not the norm back then. Sexual health was not taught in school and was such a big topic

back in the day so when Edie was asked “were you intimate with him?” (Munro 144) she said

yes. But after they asked Edie “what did you think it meant?” (Munro 144) and Edie said

“kissing” (Munro 144) they all realized it was a misunderstanding. “Being intimate means a lot

more than that” (Munro 144) Mrs. Peebles said calmly. Munro shows the ignorance that Edie has

when it came to sexual topics which shows how different it was back then and if you didn’t put

yourself into the time period you wouldn’t have caught onto that.

Conclusion

As we revisit @therandomvibes, we see Edie’s heartache, remorse, and loss. Monroe’s story

teaches us that there is a lot more than meets the eye of a person and to not judge them by just

their first impression. Foster also shows us how to “walk a day in my shoes.” Foster's theories

helped to demonstrate how to walk into someone's shoes and what it would truly be like. Among

all of his countless theories, his best ones are Geography and Time period. In the end, Foster's

book teaches us a lot about characters.